Determination
by Kencat
Summary: They'll play for him.
He could set it for any of them. The ball was falling towards his fingers and he had to make a decision. Asahi could spike it, but could he get it passed Kuroo? Tanaka was ready too, knees bent in preparation.

Was he the right choice?

He caught a glimpse of orange hair out of the corner of his eye. It darted past him, so fast that if Kageyama hadn't seen that same blur of color nearly every day of the season, he might have missed him.

Hinata.

Hinata who was already in the air, his arm pulling back for the spike. Hinata who was always in the place where the blockers couldn't catch him.

Was he the right choice?

 _Yes._

The ball met Kageyama's fingers and he bent his body and pushed it away, pushed it right where Hinata wanted it. The perfect spot for Hinata to slam it down, right in front of the net on the other side. Nekoma's Russian giant cursed. He'd been mere inches from a one-touch.

Karasuno erupted into a mess of cheering and yelling and slapping each other on the back. They were ahead by one point now, if they could keep this up-

Hinata screamed and there was no way the sound could be mistaken for a cheer. The sound scraped along Kageyama's skin, imbedding itself deep within his head until it echoed over and over inside him.

His hands were shaking before he even looked, before he saw Hinata on the floor, hands hovering over his leg.

The look on Hinata's face would haunt him hours, even days from now, he knew. Never had he seen such a mix of pain and devastation. Especially not from Hinata, who's bouncing personality and tendency to get over excited rallied them even during the toughest matches.

It was w _rong_.

Kageyama was mildly aware of people yelling, of the wind they created blowing his hair across his face as they rushed passed him.

Suga. Ukai. Daichi.

He heard Tsukishima's muffled curse loud and clear alongside Yamaguchi's sharp inhale.

He heard the gasps of the audience as they calmed down enough to realize that one of them was on the floor and wasn't getting up.

Kagayama ached to move, to go to Hinata's side and do _something._ Something to erase the look on his face. His legs wouldn't move, wouldn't allow him to go forward, to go where he belonged.

"Shouyou!" Was that Kenma or Nishinoya, the only two people who called Hinata by his first name?

Hinata's hands clenched into fists until his knuckles turned white and he banged those fists on the floor of the gymnasium and screamed with a voice that cracked harshly.

"Damn it!" He scrubbed the tears from his face and begged them not to touch his leg.

That was when Kageyama realized that Hinata must have come down too hard or maybe he landed at an angle, or maybe, maybe it was just a crazy accident. None of those reasons mattered though, because Hinata's bone had forced itself through his skin, the jagged edge sharp and nauseating to look at.

Kageyama still couldn't move, even as Hinata was moved onto a stretcher. Even as paramedics wheeled him away.

As much as Hinata got on his nerves, he knew, everyone knew, that Hinata was his best friend. How was he supposed to keep playing when Hinata was being taken away? When everyone knew that it was going to be a long while until Hinata could play again, _if_ he could play again.

When Hinata wouldn't be at his side for him to set to?

Kageyama's whole body was shaking now. If Hinata couldn't play volleyball…

 _No._

He shook the thought away, his eyes glued to the blood that had pooled on the floor. He couldn't think like that. He couldn't. When the terrifying thoughts of Hinata's inability to play left, they were replaced by something worse.

 _Would this have happened if Kageyama hadn't tossed to him?_

"Kageyama!"

His head shot up, his eyes instantly locking with Hinata's as they pushed him out of the gym. Those brown eyes were full of pain, but his voice rang out loud and clear.

"You better win!"

And with such few words, his shaking stopped, because if Hinata could still be worried about the game, then he was going to be okay.

If Hinata demanded that they win, then they would.

He glared and suddenly everything was right in the world. Or as right as it could be. "Of course we will, dumbass!"

And when Karasuno retook the court, the air around them was charged with a different sort of determination. It was fiercer, stronger than anything they'd experienced before.

Because Karasuno wasn't playing for themselves anymore.

They were playing for him.

For Hinata.


End file.
